However, this all passed me by; having only become curious about conservation in the last six months through a love of nature photography, I picked up my copy of Wilding five years after it arrived into the world. Not even realising beforehand that farming was a major threat to wildlife (it’s all green, right?) this book threw me in at the deep end. Nonetheless, by the end I was convinced: this may be the most important message the world can hear right now. What follows are two of its key lessons.

Don't forget the little things

Nature is full of beautiful crowd pleasers. An afternoon at my local nature reserve will usually treat me to the sight of red kites circling overhead – themselves a reintroduction success story – or a roe deer frozen in my peripheral vision, ready to dash away before I can lift my camera. It’s not as easy to get excited about the humble dung beetle or earthworm, yet Wilding makes clear the indispensable role they play within the ecosystem.

The tunneling of these small creatures aerates the soil, helping to reduce flooding and retain moisture in the ground, whilst their digestive activity increases its fertility. Wilding records the estimated £367 million that dung beetles save the cattle industry annually through encouraging healthy grass, while earthworms are able to safely digest and remove bacteria and chemicals which are harmful to humans.

Smaller still, and with a yet more crucial role, is an organism found at the heart of the book’s opening chapter. Before their rewilding journey began in earnest, Charlie and Isabella invited distinguished tree expert Ted Green to their farm for an inspection of the oak tree which had towered over the grounds for several hundred years. More concerned by the poor condition of the other oaks on the land, Ted explained that they were suffering as a result of the damage done to the mychorrizal fungi which lay beneath.

These hair-like filaments extend for impossible lengths under the ground (some say their networks span continents), connecting multitudes of flora together and drawing nutrients from the earth. The fungicides and heavy ploughing of modern farming sever these lifelines and leave trees isolated from one another and from their food source.

Unglamorous and imperceptible, these invertebrates and fungi nonetheless ‘bring about changes at the microscopic level that utterly transform life above ground.’ If unable to fulfil their function, it’s not long before the effects are felt.

Let go and let nature come

Humans have attempted to tame nature for as long as they’ve walked the earth; with population increases and advances in technology, our impact has increased exponentially. Unfortunately, this has led to the dismantling of a well-oiled machine which had existed for millennia before our intrusion, removing one cog of the ecosystem at a time.

The beaver was once a chief landscape architect until it became extinct in the UK in the late 1700s, their winding rivers and dams replaced by straight canals. By restoring the natural course of waterways and reverting wetlands to their original state, beavers have the potential to not only protect against the impact of flooding, but also reduce water pollution, create vibrant habitats and capture carbon in the earth.

Though extolling its benefits, Charlie and Isabella were unable to bring beavers back to Knepp at the time Wilding was written, instead having to manage their stretch of the River Adur manually. However, a successful reintroduction in 2022 now sees Banksy, Brooke – and their kits, Buster and Booster – as resident ecosystem engineers once more.

While the beavers were a later addition, Knepp nonetheless saw the introduction of various animals onto the land throughout the period covered in Wilding: longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies, Tamworth pigs, and deer. These grazers and browsers each played their part in maintaining the balance between woods and grassland, creating essential habitats for a number of species. In this way, Charlie and Isabella’s experiment subverted the prevailing approach to conservation; whereas typically nature reserves are managed to cater to a few specific species, they instead opted to return nature to its usual course and see what turned up… with a few surprises.

Rewilding faces a particular challenge: if we are only able to restore some of the pieces, we end up with an incomplete puzzle. For example, reintroducing grazing animals allows for the establishment of open spaces, but without apex predators to cast their shadow, the carefree animals reduce the chance for any scrub and woodland to emerge at all. Wilding expresses this tension in places, with evident frustration at the limitations placed on projects to restore wildlife and encourage the full course of nature.

The Knepp project has demonstrated that letting nature take back the reins is not only beneficial for wildlife, it’s also essential for sustainable food production, removing pollution, and, critically, storing carbon to help fight against climate change. With farmland covering 71% of the UK’s surface area, reforming agricultural practice would have an immense impact. Even if, like me, you don’t own acres of farmland, residential gardens make up 4.9% of the UK; reclaiming these for nature would be a substantial victory in itself.

Whatever your circumstance, everyone can use their voice and their vote to speak up for wildlife; pick up a copy of Wilding and be informed, be inspired, and be part of a hopeful vision for our future.

Logan Walker, BBOWT Volunteer

The Book of Wilding (Bloomsbury) by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell is available now.